The Mistletoe Secret

A Novel

"The master of the holiday novel presents the moving story of two people who brave loneliness and loss to find love. Dear Universe, Is anyone out there? Thinking no one is reading, a blogger who calls herself LBH writes about her most personal feelings, especially her overwhelming loneliness. She goes from day to day showing a brave face to the world while inside she longs to know how it would feel if one person cared about her. Alex Bartlett cares. He's reading her posts in Daytona Beach, Florida. Nursing his own broken heart and trust issues, he finds himself falling for this sensitive, vulnerable woman whose feelings mirror his own. Following a trail of clues LBH has inadvertently revealed, he discovers that she lives in the small town of Midway, Utah. He makes his way there just after Thanksgiving, determined to find LBH. Maybe she's a Lisa, Lori, or a Luanne. Instead, he finds a woman named Aria, a waitress at the Mistletoe Diner, who encourages Alex in his search while serving his pie along with some much-needed sympathy and companionship. Alex finally finds his LBH, a woman who is as beautiful and kind as he imagined she would be. How can he tell her that he knows her secret? What's holding him back? Could it be his feelings for Aria?"--

Richard Paul Evans' books are like comfort food for the soul. In this book two kindred souls hunt for each other. The ending is not unexpected but the book does its job of providing good reading for a brief time.

Richard Paul Evans does not disappoint. This is the first "mistletoe" installment with a male as the main character. I enjoyed this heartwarming story. As with the other books in the series there is a significant plot twist. This one was easier to guess for me, so I was not as emotionally overwrought as I found myself with books 1 and 2. Still a lovely book for any time of year.

The first two in "The Mistletoe Series" were really good, heartwarming books. However, not only was this one lacking in comparison, there were also parts that really irritated me. Yes, there was in interesting premise to the book, but that was not enough. As a feminist I'd like to know why it is that in so many holiday and/or romance books, it is the goodhearted female, who has conquered so many challenges in her life, who is the one that is always forgiving the privileged male for unkindly behaviors, and then we are all to expect that everyone lives happily ever after? It may well be books like this that offer a blueprint for lonely women to overlook so many warning signs, in their search to find someone to love them.

This book was funny and sweet! It's the first I've read from this author and I was laughing out loud in places. The audio book version is read by the author and he did a good job and may have added to the humor in the way the interactions between the men were paced. A well timed punch line and all that.

RPE's 3rd Mistletoe book is a quick feel-good read, but I didn't think it was as good as the others. The characters didn't pull me in like they usually do. It was lacking that magic touch I've come to expect from his books.